Kukla's Korner Hockey

Sun Media can exclusively reveal that the high-scoring, hard-hitting Calgary Flames defenceman will be the cover athlete for NHL 09, slated for release in September for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 game consoles.

“There are always a lot of options for who we want on our cover, and Phaneuf was a perfect choice for us this year,” said David Littman, lead producer of NHL 09. As with recent years, the game is being developed at EA Canada’s sprawling studio near Vancouver.

“He was very positive, and he was pretty pumped about being able to be on the cover,” Littman said of the Edmonton-born Phaneuf, 23, who has played three standout NHL seasons so far with the Flames.